Many students pass Gannon University’s Morosky Academic Center and know little about the man behind the name.
Robert H. Morosky was born and raised in Erie and went on to attend Gannon in its earlier days. Morosky worked diligently as an employee of the City of Erie throughout his undergraduate years.
Morosky graduated from Gannon in 1963 with a bachelor of science degree. He continued his academic career at the University of Cincinnati where we received his masters, with honors, in 1964.
He began his professional career soon after graduating, starting at Arthur Anderson & Company as a certified public accountant in 1964. He worked with the company until 1972, at which point he became the vice chairman for clothing company The Limited Inc.
In his years at The Limited, Moroksy was crucial in the development of the company, helping it grow from 15 to 4,000 stores with over $4 billion in sales.
He was later recognized through the retail world for his “just in time” merchandise delivery strategy, which was key to his success in the company.
Though he retired from The Limited in 1987, his retirement didn’t last long. Morosky made a shift to New York City and joined Allied/Federal Department Stores as president.
In his time acting as president, Moroksy managed to successfully merge major clothing retailers Bloomingdales, Jordan Marsh, Bon Marche, Lazarus and Burdines, as well as a few others, under Allied/Federal leadership. Morosky returned to retirement after resigning from Allied in 1988, returning to his home in Columbus.
Though he had many career accomplishments, Morosky also had quite the personal life. He was chairman of the Catholic Foundation of Columbus and a member of the International Game Fishing Association.
He currently holds positions as a member of the Board of Incorporators at Gannon and a trustee of the Columbus Academy. He also serves on the board of the National Catholic Stewardship Council. He served as a board member for the Buckeye Ranch and the Leukemia Society.
His philanthropic work includes the Robert H. and Dianne Morosky Endowed Scholarship Fund, which was formed after he and his wife donated $1 million to Gannon.
The scholarship is for students who are employees of the City of Erie as well as academically and financially deserving students from Erie.
The creation of this scholarship, as well as his donation to the construction of the Morosky Academic Building on West 10th Street, made him the university’s largest donor ever as of 2010.
Additionally, he finances more than 50 diocesan foundations. The university has since honored him with the Archbishop Gannon Medal of Honor.
Morosky married Dianne Dombrowski on Sept. 21, 1963. Dombrowski is a piece of Gannon history herself as she was one of the first women to take classes at the university.
The two would go on to have three children. When the two aren’t at their home in Columbus, they reside in Key Largo, Fla.

KATIE HAMILTON
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